Post by bluepride on May 14, 2010 14:21:33 GMT -5

ATLANTA POLICE DEPARTMENT NAMES SECOND LIASION

Officer Patricia Powell was recently assigned to be the second LGBT liaison for the Atlanta Police Department.

She was unavailable for an interview by press time. Powell is listed on the APD’s website as being a member of the 2010 Scholarship & Training Committee that decides funding for other police personnel seeking extra training.

Officer Dani Lee Harris, who has served as the APD’s gay liaison for nearly five years, is currently on medical leave. Several gay activists who attended the Grady High School demonstration against the anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church on May 6 questioned why Harris was not present.

Harris told Georgia Voice she was put on medical leave by her supervisors a month ago.

“I am on sick leave for gran mal seizures,” said Harris. “I was put on indefinite medical leave on April 16.”

Harris said she was informed about the Grady protest.

“Our internal commander of the Department of Homeland Security did call me the day before the protest to ask me to be there but I could not go out in my official capacity. I wished I could have been there,” she said.

Major Erika Shields issued a statement on May 7 confirming a second LGBT liaison was recently appointed, but she did not know the exact date.

In a written statement, Shields said, ““Thank you for inquiring about the Department’s GLBT Unit liaison. Officer Harris is on leave at this time. We recently transferred Officer Patricia Powell to the unit to serve as the department’s liaison. She is an excellent officer and I think you will be pleased at her joining the unit.

“The Department put an extensive amount of time in preparing for the protests of the Westboro Baptist Church. Our goal was to ensure the safety of all parties involved, while maintaining the high quality of life that residents of the City of Atlanta can reasonably expect.”

Post by bluepride on Jun 4, 2010 12:32:08 GMT -5

It Will Take More Than A Breakfast To Restore Trust In APD's LGBT Liaison

The image on this week’s cover — a cop offering up rainbow doughnuts — both symbolizes and satirizes the Atlanta Police Department’s efforts to get back in the good graces of the city’s LGBT communities.

Like most police departments, the APD has faced tensions with LGBT residents through the years. The appointment of a full-time LGBT liaison within the department in 2004 was intended to create a direct link between the two sides.

But no matter how talented the officer assigned to the post, the LGBT liaison can only be as effective as the department allows that person to be. And by the time Atlanta police raided the Atlanta Eagle, a gay leather bar, last September, the department wasn’t letting its liaison, Officer Dani Lee Harris, be effective at all.

Harris was never told of the anonymous complaints that lead to the investigation, was never allowed to reach out to the bar owners to resolve the concerns, was never involved in educating officers on how they could conduct the raid without showing bias, and in fact only learned about the raid when she was called for comment by the LGBT press.

It was an epic fail, made only clearer when then-Chief Richard Pennington held a press conference in which he bragged about his appointment of the first LGBT liaison officer more than five years earlier as evidence of his “great” relationship with LGBT Atlantans — while those citizens planned protests that would draw hundreds.

Post by TheBear on Jun 4, 2010 17:11:59 GMT -5

>>>Dani Lee is out on medical leave at present. She's a good friend and we hope she's doing well. We wish her good health and we'll try to reach out to her.<<<

I recall when Dani Lee was on BluePride Radio. She shared about the challenges of the journey it had been to educate and build bridges of understanding and goodwill with the APD. I have the feeling too many in the APD took that goodwill effort as an annoying PC necessity while, out of the camera view, continuing their chilling bigotry.

From the mid-May post, it would appear that Dani Lee is maybe permanently disability retired? ... and a new liaison has been appointed? Do we have a contact or way to reach out to Dani Lee for an update?

I don't wish to intrude on Dani's privacy. Yet, she was a very warm and exceptionally forthcoming guest on BluePride Radio... and the first to bring to my attention the "I" in LGBTI. (I've been openly gay for close to a half century. I am always open to learning new things about differences in all people.)

Is there a way to contact the current APD liaison person to give us an update? It would be good to know that Dani Lee's groundbreaking efforts are being continued... and making real, legitimate changes in the mindset within the APD.

Post by bluepride on Jul 9, 2010 10:50:13 GMT -5

APD seeks improved relations with gay community

Nearly a year after its officers conducted an ill-fated raid on Midtown's Eagle leather bar, the Atlanta Police Department is reaching out to the city's gay community in hopes of mending a widening rift.

The APD is soliciting nominations for a nine-member advisory board "aimed at creating an ongoing dialogue to better improve relations and understanding," said police spokesman Carlos Campos.

"The Eagle raid certainly caused a strain in our relationship with the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community," Campos told the AJC. Last September undercover officers, along with the force's Red Dog Unit, raided the Eagle, acting on citizen tips of illegal sexual activity at the bar. Eight employees were arrested though all charges were eventually dropped.

Twenty-eight employees and patrons of the Eagle have filed a federal lawsuit alleging civil right violations, saying the police "had neither a warrant, nor probable cause."

Campos said the advisory board announcement was not timed to coincide with last Friday's assault and robbery of a gay couple in Piedmont Park. "This has been in the works for awhile," he said.

It's all well and good that APD is looking to find a way to mend fences, but why did it take so long for the newer Liasion to be notified of the attack? And.....how does Dani Lee fit into this scenario?? I wonder how she's doing? I hope she's OK.

Post by bluepride on Jul 26, 2010 13:45:29 GMT -5

After a three-year stint in the Army, Patricia Powell was managing her brother’s barbecue restaurant, Hecky’s in Evanston, Ill., when she got a phone call from her sister in Atlanta.

“She said I should move down here, they were hiring police officers. I said, ‘Me, a police officer?’ She said you’d be good, you’re in shape,” Powell said.

Powell, who played basketball for the Army (position: guard), was ready to move from the cold climate of Chicago and the restaurant business and try something new.

So at 35 she packed her bags, moved to Atlanta and began the process of becoming an APD officer. Some 11 years later, she was named the department’s LGBT liaison officer.

Powell held several positions in the department — including patrol officer, security for Mayor Shirley Franklin, recruitment and training at the airport — before she was appointed to the liaison post in May.

“They were looking for someone and Mayor [Kasim] Reed wanted two [LGBT liaisons]. Knowing I’ve been gay for many years and that I was comfortable being out and had established relationships in the department, here I am,” she said.

“It’s been very demanding, overwhelming at times but fun also,” Powell acknowledged. “And you know, it kind of goes in waves. It’s up and down because there’s so much to do in the community.”

Post by bluepride on Aug 31, 2010 15:29:24 GMT -5

Mayor: "Second GLBT liasion" to be appointed for Atlanta Police Department

A second LGBT liaison to the Atlanta Police Department will be named in the near future, according to a press release from the APD today.

In the release, which also announces the members of the new nine-member LGBT advisory board, Mayor Kasim Reed “pledged to have the Atlanta Police Department appoint a second GLBT liaison.” Having two LGBT liaisons on the APD was a campaign promise he made last year while running for mayor.

However, what is not said in the release is what will happen to Dani Lee Harris, the former LGBT liaison who went on medical leave in April after she said suffered gran mal seizures.

Harris has not returned to the department, although when APD appointed Officer Patricia Powell as an LGBT liaison in May, Powell was portrayed as the “second” liaison who fulfilled Reed’s promise.

Harris also filed a complaint against a civilian employee of the APD with the department’s Office of Professional Standards. Harris told Georgia Voice she feels she has not been allowed to return to her job because she is being retaliated against by her superiors. Harris said they believe she contributed to the controversy that surrounded the Atlanta Eagle raid nearly a year ago and also because of the official complaint she filed with OPS.

Chief George Turner also told the Georgia Voice in an interview that there was no promise Harris would return to her post as LGBT liaison.

I accepted the appointment of Police Officer Powell as the second liasion while Dani Lee is out on leave but now it seems she (Dani Lee) being given the shaft totally. Something smells here. Dani Lee seemed dedicated and stuck her neck out for the good of the community, while not being just some apologist for her department. She really seems to be getting ef'ed over. Thr idea of the GLBT Advisory Board is good, though. It sure seems as if Atlanta could use it. But.....hmmmm....I believe Dani Lee is getting the shaft here. Good deeds never go unpunished, it seems. Maybe somwhere down the line the Atlanta Police Department will add a third "second" liasion.

Post by bluepride on Sept 24, 2010 9:38:32 GMT -5

Atlanta Police GLBT Advisory Board Has Place On Department's Website

The Atlanta Police Department’s new GLBT Advisory Board now has a place on the APD’s website. There’s not much on it right now — the nine-member board met for the first time on Monday — but there is a list of email address of all members in case you want to contact them about any concerns.

Glen Paul Freedman is the chair of the board, Terence McPhaul is vice-chair and Ebonee Bradford-Barnes is secretary.

“This site will include our meeting agendas, meeting minutes, advisory group member contact information, by-laws, events and additional information. This is a good step forward towards working together and a first for APD,” said Freedman in an email statement.

Post by bluepride on Oct 5, 2010 17:03:16 GMT -5

New Atlanta Police LGBT Says He's Always Wanted To Serve, Give Back To Community

Atlanta Police Officer Brian Sharp said growing up as a young boy in the Rome, Ga., area he always knew he wanted to be a police officer, or a pilot.

“I wanted to fly planes and be a police officer,” says the new Atlanta Police Department LGBT liaison whose first day on the job was Thursday.

“I watched ‘The Andy Griffith Show’ and liked the police cars, the uniforms. And I’ve always wanted to help people,” he said. “I feel like this [being an officer] is my calling in my life and luckily I’ve ended up being able to do this.”

Sharp, 35, joined the APD in 2007 and worked as a beat officer in Zone 2, which includes northeast Atlanta. Prior to working for the police department, he worked at a youth detention facility as an administrator. His prior work experience includes retail and restaurant management.

As part of his initial duties, Sharp is coordinating openly gay officers to ride in the Atlanta Pride Parade on Oct. 10. He rode last year in the parade.

He and Powell are still working out how to sort out what duties each will be doing, but he plans to be in the community visiting numerous events with her including many next week leading up to the 40th annual Atlanta Pride fest.

He and Powell will plan to be visible throughout Atlanta Pride, he said, visiting and talking to attendees, answering questions and basically continuing the mission they say they are there for — building bridges between the LGBT community and the APD.

“We want to build bridges [in their jobs] but also as part of the community we live in every day,” he said.

And Police Officer Dani Lee Harris is still not collecting a paycheck or working.....

*** Within the link there is a letter to the editor regarding PO Sharp. In the letter, the author "Dan" disparages Police Officer Dani Lee Harris. If he has knowledge of what Dani Lee is supposedly hiding. why doesn't he come out and say what it is? And by the way Dan, we're notqueer, we're gay. Get it right. You may be queer, I'm not.

Post by bluepride on Oct 15, 2010 10:35:18 GMT -5

Officer Brian Sharp, the new LGBT liaison for the Atlanta Police Department, was out in full force over Atlanta Pride weekend, visible in the park and walking in the Trans March with his partner.

He first official day on the job was Sept. 30 and his first official duty was lining up openly gay officers to march in the parade. He told Georgia Voice that he was looking forward to his new duties.

“One of the reasons I joined the APD is because it is a large department and is supportive of the GLBT community,” he said.

Sharp, 35, said growing up as a young boy in the Rome, Ga., area he always knew he wanted to be a police officer, or a pilot.

“I wanted to fly planes and be a police officer,” he said.

“I watched ‘The Andy Griffith Show’ and liked the police cars, the uniforms. And I’ve always wanted to help people,” he said. “I feel like this [being an officer] is my calling in my life and luckily I’ve ended up being able to do this.”

Sharp joined the APD in 2007 and worked as a beat officer in Zone 2, which includes northeast Atlanta. Prior to working for the police department, he worked at a youth detention facility as an administrator. His prior work experience includes retail and restaurant management.

Post by bluepride on Apr 15, 2011 17:38:07 GMT -5

Atlanta police focus on tattered gay image

Top commanders from the Atlanta Police Department and the agency’s two gay liaisons faced questions from LGBT citizens on Wednesday as they continue to repair an image tarnished from the botched Eagle raid.

The event at Outwrite Bookstore was billed as a public meet and greet for Atlanta police’s two LGBT liaisons and the agency’s nine-member gay advisory board. But the 90-minute session quickly turned into a showcase of the agency’s willingness to face head-on lingering concerns about its approach to LGBT issues.

Deputy Chief Renee Propes , a lesbian recently promoted to the department’s command staff, fielded questions and was joined by two majors – including the new commander of the agency’s reconstituted (and renamed) Red Dog Unit – and several openly gay and lesbian officers.

The crowd of officers at the event also included at least one, Brian Walters, who was a member of the Red Dog Unit in September 2009 and took part in the Eagle raid. He was among Atlanta police officers named in a later federal lawsuit over the raid.

Post by bluepride on Nov 10, 2011 17:07:15 GMT -5

Can you give Atlanta police LGBT liaisons a ride?

The road to repairing the strained relationship between Atlanta police and gay residents has been, in large part, paved with the good will fostered by the agency’s two LGBT liaisons. But it turns out that if it’s after hours, they might need a lift.

In the wake of the Eagle raid, criticism mounted that Atlanta police didn’t utilize its LGBT liaison in that botched raid or in later incidents with a gay angle. So police Chief George Turner revamped the department’s policies over using the now-two LGBT liaison officers, spelling out how fellow officers, detectives and commanders should notify them.

But until an alleged sexual assault Nov. 4 at a Midtown LA Fitness, it wasn’t widely known that the two liaisons – Officers Brian Sharp (second photo right) and Patricia Powell (left) – can’t quickly respond to calls with LGBT victims when they aren’t on duty. Why? A cost-cutting measure that reduced the number of officers with take-home patrol cars.

That means city cops – including the LGBT liaisons, assistant zone commanders and even hostage negotiators—who are called to duty during their off hours must first report to work, check out a pool vehicle and then respond to a crime scene.

For Charlie Stadtlander, a gay man who was assaulted in the LA Fitness in Ansley Mall, that meant Sharp couldn’t make it to the scene as other officers arrested his alleged assailant. Sharp talked with officers making the arrest via cellphone.

“That prevents him from being able to respond, unless he is able to go to the police department and get a car,” Stadtlander says. “That would have taken too long. That is my biggest complaint about the department. Our LGBT liaison was trying to respond but he could not adequately respond because he didn’t have a police car.”

One possible solution.....issue the liasions special parking permits and reimburse them for gas. They could respond quicker, if necessary, without having to go to the department facility to sign out a radio car.

Post by bluepride on Jan 5, 2012 12:23:18 GMT -5

Just found this article from November. She apparently was promoted last year around April. (See some of the above postings) I figured I'd post this article just for the heck of it....

Atlanta police promote lesbian to deputy chief

A popular veteran of the Atlanta Police Department was promoted to deputy chief this week, making her the highest-ranking publicly gay commander at a time when the agency is working to improve its relationship with the city’s LGBT residents.

Major Renee Propes marked the first day in her new post on Thursday, becoming one of only four deputy chiefs at the department. The former Zone 6 commander, who served most recently as commander of the department’s precinct at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, is also the only woman at that rank and likely its first lesbian. Propes will now oversee the agency’s Community Services Division and its nearly 350 officers.

“I hope that I can help foster really good relationships between the police department and the community, in particular the GLBT community,” Propes says. “I’ve been to forums where I’ve wanted to make sure that the community understands that the police department is a diverse police department. It is reflective of the community we serve.

“We are not a bunch of homophobes in this police department. We embrace diversity. We treat each other the way we treat citizens—in a good positive way,” she adds.

Post by bluepride on Feb 13, 2012 15:41:31 GMT -5

Atlanta Police Department seeking a few good men and women - yes, including you

There is definite tension between the Atlanta Police Department and the city's LGBT residents — the unconstitutional raid on the Atlanta Eagle continuing fallout and accusations the department didn't hire an applicant because he is HIV positive, just to name a few of the reasons for the bumpy relationship.

But there is a strong gay presence on the force as well, with two LGBT liaisons and Deputy Chief Renee Propes, a lesbian, heading up a major division of the force. The police have also made one arrest in the anti-gay beating of Brandon White.

So, for those interested in being part of the force, here's your chance — a career fair is set for Monday, Feb. 13, at 8 a.m. at the APD's Public Safety Headquarters, 226 Peachtree St. SW, Atlanta, GA 30303. Interviews and testing begin promptly at 8 a.m. on the second floor; anyone arriving after 8 a.m. will not be admitted.

Post by bluepride on Apr 12, 2012 13:44:11 GMT -5

Atlanta Police officials are calling a photo emailed to a local TV station of a framed picture of "CHiPS" star Erik Estrada with the phrase "You're a homo" written on the picture a "sick joke" possibly meant to embarrass the APD.

Someone within the police department apparently emailed to Fox 5 a photo of the framed picture sitting on a police officer’s desk.

"We became aware of the photo [on Wednesday] from Morse Diggs of Fox 5 who sent the picture to Carlos [Campos, APD spokesperson]," said Deputy Chief Renee Propes, who is openly gay.

"The officer whose desk it is on works for me," she said. "It was sitting on a supervisor's desk in the motors [motorcycle] unit."

Two sergeants are assigned to this office, Propes explained, and an Office of Professional Standards investigation has been opened.

A sergeant who worked in the office called Propes Wednesday night to tell her the photo was his. He retired about three months ago and told her the photo had been in a desk drawer for a decade. The segeant said he thought he put it in the trash when he retired, Propes said.

"He called me and wanted to apologize to me and the APD," Propes said.

The sergeant, whose name she did not give, looked like Erik Estrada, loved it when people called him "Ponch," collected "CHiPS" action figures and even had a photo of himself with Estrada and John Wilcox, the stars of the show.

"He said the photo was given to him more than a decade ago and he threw it in a desk drawer. When he retired, he said he thought he put it in the trash," Propes said.

For the photo to surface like this saddened him, she said. She acknowledged he was one of her favorite sergeants and was a great mentor.

"If you asked him, he would call me a good friend. There is no mean spirit in him and he has nothing against gay people," she said.

We've all seen that photo in question over the last 10 or more years. It's been floating around the internet for many years. I never thought it was funny even though I've seen it on gay websites. The retired officer seems genuinely concerned that it's so offensive. Anyway, their department is investigating and I'm sure it will be handled appropriately. I hope so, anyway. BTW, I'm NOT going to post the graphic here.

Post by bluepride on May 12, 2012 17:32:26 GMT -5

New Atlanta Police LGBT Liasion: "I Work For You, With You"

Officer Kristin Knight made her first official public appearance as the Atlanta Police Department’s new LGBT liaison at the HRC Dinner May 5, but she has been out and open on the force since she began working on foot patrol seven years ago.

Knight, 30, said she came out to her family when she was 18 and moved to Atlanta to attend Clark Atlanta University from Milford, Conn., where she was born and raised.

“I came out when I was 18. It coincided with growing up and moving out, when I felt more comfortable saying who I was,” she said in an interview at Atlanta Public Safety Headquarters.

The reaction from her family when she told them?

“Yeah, we already kind of knew,” Knight said with a laugh.

Knight joins Officer Brian Sharp as the APD’s two LGBT liaisons. She replaces Senior Patrol Officer Pat Powell, who took the job in 2010 at the height of the LGBT community’s discontent with the APD as part of the fallout of the unconstitutional raid on the Atlanta Eagle, a Midtown gay bar.

The then-underutilized liaison post was at the center of the controversy, as the previous liaison was not notified or involved in the raid, and did not learn of it until called by the press for comment.

Since that time, the APD has increased the LGBT liaison unit to two officers, created an LGBT citizen advisory board, and also implemented changes to the department required by the federal court settlement in the Eagle case.

Powell is now working in the APD’s background and recruitment department as part of the continuing career development and changes all officers undergo, said APD spokesperson Carlos Campos.